You can view the civil registrations (births, marriage, deaths) for Sassano, Italy at your nearest LDS Family History Center. They have available to rent and view the records from 1866-1910 on microfilm. You won't find Giuseppe's birth there (if he was born 1864), but you should find Giovannina's birth, and probably their marriage record...https://www.familysearch.org/eng/librar ... Sassano+++

Thank you for the ship's manifest, etc. Somewhat of a puzzle to me is that Joseph "Rich" came to America ca. 1886 (Hartford, Connecticut) and then onto Duluth, Minnesota ca. 1890. (I couldn't find him in the 1900 census). Then his "wife" (+ mother) and "son" came to America in 1891. For Joseph to be the father of Frank, then Joseph & Giovannina had to have been together (either in America or Italy) ca. Jan 1889 (9 months prior to Frank). I'm guessing that possibly Joseph went back to Italy for a visit ca. 1888. Why aren't there ship's records for 1886/7? George Kittell

bgkittell wrote:Thank you for the ship's manifest, etc. Somewhat of a puzzle to me is that Joseph "Rich" came to America ca. 1886 (Hartford, Connecticut) and then onto Duluth, Minnesota ca. 1890. (I couldn't find him in the 1900 census). Then his "wife" (+ mother) and "son" came to America in 1891. For Joseph to be the father of Frank, then Joseph & Giovannina had to have been together (either in America or Italy) ca. Jan 1889 (9 months prior to Frank). I'm guessing that possibly Joseph went back to Italy for a visit ca. 1888. Why aren't there ship's records for 1886/7? George Kittell

Hi George!

Ellis Island didn't start processing immigrants until 1892... and the records before 1900 are often skimpy in the amount of information they provided. Prior to that ships arrived at Castle Garden and there are SOME records available.However, there were other points of entry for ships... Philadelphia, Boston, New Orleans, etc. AND there were also points of entry along the borders with Canada and Mexico. Giuseppe (Joseph) may have entered in any number of ways in 1886/7, and we may never find that record. Unfortunately, there are no records of immigrations BACK to Italy...We'll just keep searching to see what we CAN find keeping in mind that the names may be misispelled and dates and ages may be inaccurate in the records

bgkittell wrote:Thank you for the ship's manifest, etc. Somewhat of a puzzle to me is that Joseph "Rich" came to America ca. 1886 (Hartford, Connecticut) and then onto Duluth, Minnesota ca. 1890. (I couldn't find him in the 1900 census). Then his "wife" (+ mother) and "son" came to America in 1891. For Joseph to be the father of Frank, then Joseph & Giovannina had to have been together (either in America or Italy) ca. Jan 1889 (9 months prior to Frank). I'm guessing that possibly Joseph went back to Italy for a visit ca. 1888. Why aren't there ship's records for 1886/7? George Kittell

My guess is that Joseph traveled back to Italy about 1888 (many of the immigrants came here to work and go back to Italy - not to stay here), and then married Giovannina in 1888 or early 1889. I'll look for a manifest for 1888-1891...

Here is a Minnesota Census listing from 1905 - Joe, wife, children and mother-in-law

1910 United States Federal CensusTheir son, Ambrose, died the following year...Giovannina's mother, Antonia, is not listed and probably died between 1905 and 1910 since she appears on the 1905 census of Minnesota.On this census Jennie indicates that she has had 5 children and all are living.

Looks like Joe Rich may have applied for citizenship in Minnesota...Found this reference information... You might want to contact the county to see if you can identify the correct person, and get a copy of his papers.

I did some searching on the Castle Garden Website and found an arrival notation (no manifests here) for a Giuseppe Ricci in 1885 - BUT can't say this is the ONE...Age is about right... he lists his occupation as a farmer (not uncommon)... Country of birth is Italy, destination is United States...http://castlegarden.org/quick_search_de ... d=10732710

There are several trips by passengers named GIUSEPPE RICCI in 1890-91...Ages help, but so many of the records have Giuseppe/Joe's age in a wide range If the 1920 Census is correct, he was born in 1861 - If the death record is correct, he was born in 1864... Here are the listings of arrivals by passengers named GIUSEPPE RICCIhttp://castlegarden.org/search_02.php?a ... tartpage=1

Also found this ship manifest - - arrival NY April 12, 1890 on the BurgundiaGiuseppe Ricci, age 28, (line 80)